Evaluate your work placement

The Viva La Gong festival brought together a large team of volunteer to support all aspects of the events. It was fun and challenging for the young people volunteering as it gave them an opportunity to express their personal creativity as part of a team and reflect their skill in the communication area. I felt that the festival especially supported and helped TAFE students because it gave them opportunities for practising what they had learned through their TAFE courses. Some of these lessons had emphasised how to communicate and promote their course to others. Most of the TAFE students helped by marketing events, by distribution and by prevention of unsafe practices during the events.
I learned that volunteering is free labour and that it is worthwhile volunteering as participants in this work placement could practice what they had learned all year and so consolidate and expand their knowledge. Students were pleased to be part of the Local Council organisation. However the organisation needs to be better organised to get the most from the volunteer students. The coordinator should have already known what objects were needed and where to place them. For example: one lady told us bring chairs and tables to the event but she did not tell us where to place them, so we played around area by area to find out by ourselves. Finally we found out where to place them through a sign map.
The success of students in their future careers requires practice before they begin. The Viva La Gong festival experience gave me the opportunity to practice thinking ahead in participating in a large public event and in interacting with the public. I believe these are two extremely valuable experiences and I was pleased to be a part of this festival.

6. Educating and training requirement of workers in the organisation.
These were directed by the coordinator who trained all the volunteers and gave them information about their roles.

6. Relevant legal and ethical requirements.

Viva La Gong is obliged to enhance community safety, quality of life and confidence by minimising the impact of hazards and emergency incidents on the people. One source of achievement for this goal is preventing or preparing for emergencies in the events.

For volunteer assistants the organisation provided the Red T shirt with the Viva La Gong logo on the back so people can recognize the difference between volunteers and coordinators and the general public. The IMB banking support logo hats protected volunteers and employees from sun damage in this mostly open-air event.

The volunteers also received the lifting information sheet by the final meeting day. This sheet explained: back injury, pinch points and strains caused by incorrect carrying objects. Also this sheet shows the volunteer the lifting techniques for loading, including how to use trolleys and lifting aids so you do not endanger yourself or others.

4. Roles and responsibilities of other workers in the organisation.There were several roles in the organisation and in each case the title associated with these roles indicated the worker’s responsibilities. These were as follows:
Lisa Nolan, Cultural Services Coordinator, Wollongong City CouncilChris Latham, Festival Program ManagerCarrie Edwards, Sponsorship, Marketing and Media CoordinatorMignon Lee Warden, Project and Events CoordinatorJeff Stein, Street Arts Curator and Production Manager
Paula Rodriguez, Volunteer Coordinator.

3. Characteristics of the organisation.
The Viva La Gong festival is a great information source, a place to express youth ideas and concepts. It is also a way of keeping up with what is happening around the Wollongong area.

It is entirely a volunteer effort so the Viva La Gong festival welcomes extra help, time, or talent offered by people interested in keeping the site up and running. Submissions of articles, stories, poetry, links to other sites, items to trade, original artworks, photographs and events to advertise in the calendar are welcome. Rules controlling what will be used are governed by their non-denominational, non-politically biased and non-racist stance.

The Viva La Gong festival aims is provide information to a wide audience. It identifies the need for an online youth forum and connects young people of different interests, cultures and locations.

Your tasks/ roles and responsibilities, also including skills and knowledge you developed.

Ø Bump in/ Out: This consisted of doing the following:
Moving and setting up tables and chairs
Moving life sized artworks
Putting up signs and flags
Loading and unloading vans
Setting up information booths.

Injuries that can result from incorrect lifting and manual handling can also be very serious. So it was important in this part of the event for me to know the proper ways to lift. This could save me a great deal of pain and misery from a sprained back. So, as a volunteer, it was necessary for me to read the organizer’s Lifting Information sheet with which I had been provided.


Ø Event Surveys: We conducted surveys during events to gain and give feedback from festival goers. This involved interacting with the crowd to find out what they thought and how they felt about the festival. The organisers planned a prize draw to encourage as many people as possible to do the questionnaire. They could either fill in with us or we would give them a copy to fill in later in the festival, to be handed in at the information booth at the end of the day.
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In this role the volunteer had a lot of interaction with public, therefore they needed to be attentive and concentrate on what was being said. We suggested our opinions on where to go and what going on. We listened what the public asked then gave feedback straight away.


Ø Work shop assistants: Here we helped prepare art and craft material required for kite making and flying.

To be successful in this area the volunteer needed to collaborate with parents and children to gain all information required. It was most important that the assistants should clearly described the kite-making and flying information, so that the volunteer and the guest could have a shared understanding of any concerns or questions. In some cases the volunteer needed to use body language to make clearer misunderstood answers.


Ø Traffic control: In this role we needed to ensure a consistent flow of traffic. We also needed to direct traffic to parking access/ egress and to prevent people from parking in reserved or clear areas.

In this area we needed to concentrate on what was being said and to use clear and simple language to convey on the message. We needed to be aware that we should not talk too quietly. In some cases the volunteer needed to use body language to make clearer misunderstood instructions..


Ø Festival Information booth: At the information stand I have provided information about activities including show times and locations.

1. The products and the services of the organisation
Viva La Gong has been a major positive festival in Wollongong for many years now. It is a colourful and vibrant expression of the identity of Wollongong. The festival is a fabulous showcase for local arts and cultural projects by young and old, reflecting the talent and cultural diversity in the region.
Viva La Gong provides the local arts community with an opportunity to demonstrate their creative ability. It is funded by Wollongong council so each year it is important to report on the event to ensure its quality and relevance to the community that Wollongong council serves. The theme of this year is “The spirit of flight” which represents the region’s links to early aviation history.

In 2008 the festival ran over four days and three nights from 9 – 12 October. The festival aimed to bring free art and entertainment to the streets of Wollongong for everyone to enjoy on the last day of the school holidays .The festival came alive with Viva's program of events involving upward of 300 artists from Wollongong and Australia generally. They covered dance, theatre, music, visual arts, cross media and forums.